Shifting Tides
by Confident is my Middle Name
Summary: The beginning of a shortish story mostly just involving my own characters in the Avatar world, very few ties to the show itself... This is my first thing so be as brutal as possible and tell me the truth, hit me!
1. Chapter 1

One hundred years is a long time to fight and kill one another. It causes divisions, leaves scars, and creates hatred. The effect on people can be irreversible, causing them to hate each other because of something as simple as where they were born, whether they pledged allegiance to the flame, or the earth and whether their sympathies still lie with those nations. But enough about that, this story ain't about world changing people and events, its about a small group of individuals trying to protect what they know and love, each other...

The sun crested the hill to shine down upon a small group of men and women, they slept around a small campfire wrapped in their blankets, it was chilly enough to put frost on the ground and create white puffs out of men's breaths. A thin man sat in a tree not far from the camp, his eyes roamed the countryside looking for danger, his jet black hair was spiked and a mask covered the bottom portion of his face, his large spear sat at the foot of the tree and a dagger was stabbed into the tree within easy reach. He rubbed his fingerless gloved hand together to stir warmth into them. Though it was frozen, he moved as little as possible, even his breath came shallow to keep his movement slight. One of the blankets stirred and a man popped his sleepy-eyed gaze out into the cold morning, he blew out a breath to watch it dissipate and smiled as he spotted his sentry sitting in the tree. The masked man kept his eyes roaming, not turning to look at his companion though feeling his gaze on his back. The waking man mumbled to himself and got his things together, the noise of his wakefulness stirred several others in the camp to life, they too started to pack up. The man turned back to his treed companion.

"Oui, Tetsuya! We're movin' out in a couple of hours, get some grub." Tetsuya looked towards the booming voice of his best friend, the only one he still called his brother. Tetsuya nodded, pulled out his dagger and dropped to the ground, all of this was done in a single seamless motion. Tetsuya turned to watch his friend approach.

"Have you ever heard of stealth Kuma? The damn Fire Lord probably heard your big mouth." Kuma smiled down at Tetsuya, it wasn't that Tetsuya was short, in fact he was a hair taller than most men, it was just that Kuma was as big as his name sake. Tetsuya was nearly head and shoulders shorter than Kuma. He picked up his spear and and made a motion as if to attack Kuma, Kuma didn't flinch. He smiled, though it was hard to see below the mask.

"You're getting better." Tetsuya said, watching Kuma smile wide.

"Yer eyes said you weren't gonna commit, sides, I had a good teacher, Master Testuya." Kuma did a mock formal bow and laughed slightly. Tetsuya got serious again.

"Nothing to report. When Hana was keeping watch i did some scouting, we seemed to have lost them for now, but we wont get this lucky for long, we need a plan." Kuma nodded, he had something brewing, but he didn't say anything just yet.

"What we need is some more fire power, so to speak." The speaker was a tall woman, she was almost as tall as Tetsuya, her black hair was pulled above her head into a braid that between her breasts. Even in the frigid morning her feet were bare, she was on the other hand covered from neck to ankle in heavy winter clothing. The only reason her teeth didn't chatter was force of will.

"You know its a lot warmer with shoes on." Tetsuya shook his head with a slight smile on his face as Kuma finished talking. The woman punched Kuma's arm as she grinned from ear to ear.

"I bet its a bit warmer if you weren't the size of battleship." Kuma chuckled. Tetsuya moved around the two of them and headed to the camp for some food.

"You need me to keep watch? I see a lot better than the rest of you." The woman said. Kuma scratched his head.

"Naw, we move soon. Akira and Uke can scout about, see if they can scare anythin' up, you." He put his index finger on her forehead. She swatted it away.

"Make sure ya got yer strength up, if we run inta Phoenix Warriors we're royally screwed." He walked past her towards the camp yelling for everyone to either wake up or get to work. She smiled at his back, she let her mind drift back to the beginning, when she first met Kuma and Tetsuya...


	2. Chapter 2

_The sounds of war are harsh and oppressive, much like war itself. For some though, war is the only time the truly feel alive, the adrenaline rush of pitting your skills against another in a duel to the death, the experiences of pain and triumph that can be shifted in an instant by the slightest change. Those that live for war, are seen as insane by some, prized by others. I am one of those few, my name is Toph Bei Fong._

_Combat has always thrilled me, but i didn't truly appreciate my thirst until the fighting was over. I went of to help in the rebuilding effort, trying to repair the world, but all i could think about was fighting, i took to fighting within the arena as i had before i joined Aang, but for me, it wasn't visceral enough. It was then that i heard rumors of underground fighting arenas where combatants fought to the death for nothing but glory. It was there that i met my future friends and comrades: Kuma and Tetsuya._

_They saw me in my full bloody fury, something i had never had the courage to show Aang, Sokka and Katara. Something i knew they would see as brutal and animalistic, something that both Tetsuya and Kuma fully appreciated. I remember the first time i laid eyes on Kuma, i met his dark blue eyes across the killing circle, i had blood splattering covering my face and clothing, where everyone's else eyes showed blood lust, fear or loathing, i saw, delight. His first words to me were:_

_"Yer the best I've ever seen, why do ya fight in this dump?" I remember smiling, and replying:  
_

_"You got something better?" He told me of the war with the newly declared Phoenix Warriors, and the fight he was bringing straight to them, it was then and there that i joined him._

Toph was startled out of her thoughts by Kuma's large hand on her shoulder, she had let the oaf sneak up on her, she couldn't see his smile, but she knew it was there.

"Yer gettin' soft Toph, thinkin' bout the good ol' days?" She laughed as he slid his hand off her shoulder and stepped closer to her, she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting those hands in different places. She swallowed as the silence stretched on, she listened to his steady heartbeat through the ground and smiled when she heard the sound of Tetsuya's very soft steps.

"Phoenix Warriors, not far." Toph grinned ear to ear. She felt her blood surge and her ears pound. She could already smell fire, a smell she loved because it meant war.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, sorry for the previously very short chapter. Also it was kinda rough and choppy but i let it be that way cause i figure that was how Toph would write it and it was her head i was in, so i just let her do the talking...**

Tetsuya stabbed the the point of his spear straight through the heart of the Phoenix Warrior soldier. The fighting was coming to an end around him, he heard the Kuma's laughing as he toyed with three of the Warriors. Kuma switched his single edged sword between his hands and danced on his feet, taunting the three in front of him.

"You kill me, and they'll let ya live." The three Warriors looked to each other, and Kuma took his opportunity. He slashed the first across the abdomen, the man cried out as Kuma slashed his throat. The second tried the frontal approach, while the third rolled to his right attempting to flank him, Kuma laughed.

"Good, now yer usin' yer heads." He parried the seconds spear, grabbing a hold of it and head butted the man, the third lunged with his sword as Kuma slid out of the way. The second Warrior coughed up blood as the third's sword plunged in between his ribs, the third stood watching the life drain from his comrade's eyes in disbelief. Kuma grabbed his sword two-handed and relived the third of his head. The smile fell from his face as he looked back to Tetsuya.

"Did we lose anyone?" Tetsuya shook his head, Kuma sighed in relief. Toph punched him in the arm.

"We're too good for these suckers..." Her sentence was cut off by a ostrich horse sized fireball flying straight at her, Kuma moved as quickly as he could diving on top of her to protect her, the fireball grazed his back, lighting his clothes on fire, it continued until it blew up agianst a tree, incinerating the old growth like a piece of kindling. Toph rolled away from him and pounded the ground with her fists, sliding her foot at the same time. Large stone barricades shot up and Kuma's people jumped behind them, the movement also threw dirt onto Kuma's burning clothing, snuffing the fire out. The stone barricades were almost three feet thick. Tetsuya looked across the expanse to Kuma, between them was Hana, her jet black hair was pulled tight into a bun, her eyes were dark as pitch, but always seemed to burn with an inner fire, she sucked in a breath charging the fire she had in her soul. That fire, and her life was snuffed out by the large lightning bolt striking the barricade. It exploded sending shards of earth, and Hana's limp body, flying. Zhao cursed and lept out, Reo wasn't far behind him. Zhao, Reo and Hana were elite fire benders assigned to Kuma by Fire Lord Zuko himself, they were also specially trained in the new tactics Kuma, and the enemy commander Tsuna, had come up with.

Tsuna was a hidden legend, his fire bending skills had always been mediocre, but his true gift was his lateral thinking, and his gift for strategy. With the defeat of Ozai and Zuko being put on the throne, Tsuna had seen his chance to strike at the very heart of the Fire Nations enemies. He had worked to invent and put into action new tactics, tactics meant to overwhelm those more powerful, in any bending tradition. These tactics had then been observed, stolen, and improved upon by Kuma and his team of 'Fire Killers'.

Zhao kept up a steady barrage of fire as he dodged around, never staying in one place long, Reo played defense, deflecting, or destroying the fireballs that came his way, they were both waiting for something. Kuma realized too late what it was. The sound of lightning sounded as a lanky man with a shaved head stepped from behind a tree, his fingers cackled with electricity. He smiled, and flung out his hand, two fingers extended straight at Reo, but they had been planning for this. Zhao leaped straight behind Reo and took up a strange stance, Reo himself, ducked. Zhao extended his right arm, two fingers extended mimicking the lightning bender. The lighting stuck him, but instead of destroying him, it seemed to gather in him. Zhao pivoted his body moving his arms in straight lines, and pointed the fingers of his left hand back towards the man. The lightning fired out and struck the tree to the lightning benders right, it shattered the tree, sending the bender flying. Zhao fell to his knees in exhaustion. Reo was quick to scoop him up and leap behind a stone barricade. Kuma raised his eyebrows at Reo, he was returned with a beaming smile.


End file.
